Computer simulations have been used for a number of years in forestry management. There are a number of different computer simulations known in the art that are used for forestry management. Forest inventory systems provide for a picture of timber resources at a specific moment in time. Forestry growth systems with mathematical growth models provide a way of simulating tree growth. Harvest schedule systems produce harvest and planting schedules find optimum harvest schedules for one or more stands of trees.
These forestry simulation tools have proven effective for specific applications, but they are difficult to use and customize. There are also a number of problems associated with using forestry simulations systems known in the art. Some of forestry simulation systems require a forestry manager input a large data file as batch job on a large mainframe computer and cannot be used on a time-shared computer. The batch forestry simulation may run for a significant amount of time, and the forestry simulation results are not instantaneous, but are delayed by some time period (e.g., a half-hour).
Other forestry simulation systems are used on personal computers but are application specific and are not designed to simulate more than one or two aspects of forest management at one time. Forestry simulation systems know in the art and used on personal computers are also written in programming languages like the C programming language that do not allow re-use of source code modules and are not easily adaptable. The forestry simulation systems known in the art typically do not have a graphical user interface that allow easy interaction with the underlying forestry simulation systems.
Today's forest manager should consider many complex factors simultaneously when managing forested land. Forestry management systems known in the art that consider one or two forestry management factors in isolation have proved to be ineffective in many situations to make accurate predictions for the management of forest lands.
Complex factors such as timber management, wildlife management, recreation, environmental quality and others are interrelated and need to be simulated together and not in isolation. Forestry simulations known in the art do not address today's complex forest management needs. The effective management of forest resources for multiple use has been hampered by a dearth of good simulation tools that can effectively consider multiple goals simultaneously.
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the problems associated with simulating forestry management are overcome. A method and system are provided for simulating forestry management with an object-oriented forestry simulation that takes into account multiple complex factors. As is known in the art, object-oriented programming is used to design computer software that is easy to create, cost effective to modify and reusable. The object-oriented forestry simulation system includes a library of object-oriented modules for simulating various aspects of forestry management. The object-oriented forestry simulation system also includes a windowed graphical user interface that is used to view multiple forestry management factors as the forestry simulation progresses.
The object-oriented forestry simulation method includes maintaining a database containing a description of multiple forest resources and multiple management actions for managing the forest resources. The forest resources include trees, stands and wildlife. The management actions include cruise, grade, harvest, clear cut and plant. However, more or fewer forest resources and management methods could also be used.
An object-oriented forest resource model is constructed from the multiple forest resources in the database. An object-oriented management model is constructed from the multiple management actions in the database. The object-oriented management model is used for managing forest resources in the forest resource model. A simulation of forest resources over a pre-determined period of time is initiated using the object-oriented forest resource model. Periodically, the object-oriented management model is applied to the forest resources from the object-oriented forest resource model being used in the simulation to manage the forest resources.
An illustrative embodiment of the present invention uses object-oriented technologies to create a library of programmable components that is comprehensive, customizable and reflective of real world forest management. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention is capable of simulating many aspects of forest management simultaneously including: forestry operations, organization cash flow and environmental quality. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention allows forestry management to simultaneously consider multiple factors in designing a forest management plan and thereby provides solutions to forestry questions, such as multiple use management, that are difficult to answer.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with references to the accompanying drawings.